External Hard Drive Not Showing Up on Mac: Why It Is Not Recognizing

Troubleshooting External Drives Not Recognized by Your Mac

Encountering issues with your Mac not recognizing external drives? This comprehensive guide explores common causes and provides step-by-step solutions to get your drives working again. From simple restarts to more advanced troubleshooting, we've got you covered. MacKeeper's Find & Fix feature can simplify many of these repairs.

Why Your Mac Might Not Recognize Your External Hard Drive

Several factors can prevent your external hard drive from working correctly with your Mac:

• Incompatible File System: Your external drive may be formatted with a file system (e.g., NTFS) not natively supported by macOS.
• Connection Problems: A loose, damaged, or frayed USB cable can interrupt the connection. The cable itself (often USB to Micro-B) might be faulty.
• Data Glitches: Corrupted data on the drive can hinder access.
• macOS Settings: Incorrect macOS settings can prevent drive recognition.
• Physical Damage: Physical damage to the drive may require professional data recovery.
• Malware: Malware could be interfering with drive access. Scanning with MacKeeper's Antivirus is recommended.

Solutions: Fixing External Drive Recognition Issues

Don't panic! Most of these problems have easy fixes. Try these steps:

1. Restart Your Mac: The simplest solution; often resolves temporary glitches. Restart your Mac via the Apple menu.

   

2. Adjust Finder Preferences: Ensure external drives are enabled in Finder preferences. Go to Finder > Preferences > General and check "External disks" and "Hard disks" in both the "General" and "Sidebar" sections.

   

3. Check Power Supply: Larger drives may require more power. Verify the drive's power light is on and connections are secure. Consider a powered USB hub if necessary.

4. Test on Another Device: Try connecting the drive to another Mac or Windows PC to isolate the problem. Compatibility issues will be revealed if it only works on Windows.

5. Use Terminal: (Advanced users) Use Terminal commands (diskutil list, diskutil info, diskutil eject) to identify and manage drives. Grant Terminal full disk access in System Settings > Privacy & Security > Full Disk Access.

   

6. Utilize Disk Utility: Repair disk errors using Disk Utility (Applications > Utilities > Disk Utility). Unmount the drive if possible, and run First Aid.

   

7. Reformat Your Drive: If necessary, reformat your external drive using a macOS-compatible file system (APFS or HFS ).

   

8. Run First Aid (Advanced): Use First Aid in Disk Utility to check and repair the drive. Show All Devices (Cmd 2) for more options.

   

9. Reset NVRAM (Intel Macs): Reset the NVRAM by holding Command Option P R during startup (Intel Macs only).

10. Check System Information: Verify the drive is recognized in System Settings > General > System Report > Storage.

    

11. Run Apple Diagnostics: Test for hardware problems using Apple Diagnostics (hold D key during startup).

    

12. Try Different Connections: Experiment with different USB ports and connection methods. Slow, deliberate insertion may help.

    

13. Test with Another Drive: Try a different external drive to rule out drive-specific issues.

    

14. Update macOS: Ensure your operating system is up-to-date. Go to System Settings > General > Software Update.

    

Consider Replacing Your Drive?

If all else fails, your external drive may need replacing. Back up your data immediately if you're experiencing inconsistent performance. MacKeeper's Find & Fix can help streamline the troubleshooting process.

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